Joint Commission International (JCI) Accredited Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai highlights the importance of quality of care in a healthcare setting

Healthcare providers have a moral and professional responsibility to ensure that the care they provide to patients is safe and delivers results in line with internationally recognised outcomes.

As the first overseas branch of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai continuously strives to maintain and further grow the positive reputation of its 200+ year-old parent hospital. A core priority for the hospital, and one of the ways of achieving this, is through frequent, quantifiable audits related to the quality of care provided.

The quality ambition of the hospital includes measurable targets for their patients, embodied by safe care, positive experiences, involvement, and, very importantly, outstanding surgical outcomes.

Surgical outcome measures monitor the safety and success of surgeries performed in a quantifiable way. This helps to ensure that the quality of care can be robustly measured and comparisons assessed from patient to patient, surgeon to surgeon and clinic to clinic.

The hospital has a vast range of vigorously monitored surgical outcome measures, covering services including cataracts, retinal detachments, paediatrics, strabismus, refractive eye surgery, ocular plastics, corneal transplants, and glaucoma. In addition, the hospital measures aspects such as vision after surgery, the occurrence of infection and the rate of requiring further surgery.

The data gathered is fed back to the parent hospital to ensure that clinical outcomes are in line with international guidelines and benchmarks.

An example of the above is cataract surgery outcomes, where over 98% of Moorfields patients in the UAE had a post-operative visual acuity better than 6/12, exceeding the target of 90% set.

Another instance is the hospital’s 98% success rate for retinal detachment surgery, far exceeding the 75% target for the highly complex surgery.

LASIK surgery and similar vision correction surgery targets of 80% and over were also surpassed, with over 95% success rate reported.

Accountability for outcomes is an aspect in which the London branch in Dubai takes much pride. The detailed surgical outcomes measured are not only communicated organisation-wide in Dubai and London but also to the patients; this helps relieve anxiety often associated with the decision to undergo a surgical procedure.

The hospital aims to publish such outcome data and urges all other healthcare providers to do the same, as such transparency is a patient right and a way of empowering patients to make the most informed choice about their healthcare needs.

Optic neuritis

This blog has been contributed by Dr. Salma Yassine, Consultant Ophthalmologist in Paediatric & Neuro-ophthalmology

What is optic neuritis?

Optic neuritis occurs when our immune system mistakenly targets the substance covering your optic nerve, resulting in inflammation and damage to the myelin. This disrupts electrical impulses that travel from the eye to the brain, causing blurred or dark vision.

How does optic neuritis affect me?

Optic neuritis usually affects one eye. Symptoms might include:

  • Pain: Eye pain that’s usually worsened by eye movement. Sometimes it presents as a dull ache behind the eye.
  • Vision loss in one eye: Noticeable vision loss usually develops over hours or days and improves over several weeks to months. However, vision loss can be permanent in some people.
  • Visual field loss: Central or peripheral vision loss
  • Loss of colour: Colours appear less vivid

What causes optic neuritis?

The following autoimmune conditions often are associated with optic neuritis:

  • Multiple sclerosis: It is a disease in which the autoimmune system attacks the myelin sheath covering nerve fibres in your brain. The risk of developing multiple sclerosis after optic neuritis increases further if an MRI scan shows demyelinating brain lesions
  • Neuromyelitis Optica: In this condition, the inflammation affects the optic nerve and spinal cord. As a result, it often results in diminished visual recovery after an attack compared with MS.
  • Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody disorder: Like neuromyelitis optica, recurrent attacks of inflammation can occur in the optic nerve, spinal cord or brain. However, recovery from MOG attacks is usually better than recovery from neuromyelitis optica.

When symptoms of optic neuritis are more complex, other associated causes need to be considered, including infections, rheumatological diseases, and drugs or toxins (ethambutol or methanol)

Why do I need to see a neuro-ophthalmologist?

  • Neuro-ophthalmologist is experienced in sorting out the differences between optic neuritis and other optic nerve diseases.
  • During your office visit, the doctor will check your visual fields and scan your optic nerves
  • Your doctor will order an MRI of the brain with special views of the orbits with contrast to confirm optic neuritis
  • Your doctor may order other tests, such as blood tests or a chest X-ray

What are the possible complications?

  • Optic nerve damage:  Most have permanent optic nerve damage after an episode of optic neuritis, but the damage might not cause permanent symptoms.
  • Decreased visual acuity: Most people regain normal or near-normal vision within months, but a partial loss of colour discrimination might persist.

Side effects of treatment: Steroid medications used to treat optic neuritis suppress the immune system, which causes your body to become more susceptible to infections. It can also cause mood changes and weight gain.

What you need to know about Cataracts

This blog has been contributed Dr. Salman Waqar, Consultant Ophthalmologist in Cataract and Glaucoma Surgery. 

Cataracts are a common age-related eye condition where the eye’s lens becomes cloudy and opaque, affecting vision. The lens is a clear, elastic structure that helps focus light onto the retina, which sends visual signals to the brain. As we age, the lens becomes less flexible and loses its transparency, leading to cataracts.

There are several types of cataracts, including congenital cataracts (present at birth), traumatic cataracts (caused by injury), and secondary cataracts (caused by other eye conditions or diseases). However, the most common type is age-related cataracts, which occur naturally with age.

Cataracts can cause various symptoms, including blurred or hazy vision, glare or halos around lights, double vision in one eye, frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescriptions, fading or yellowing of colours, and difficulty seeing at night. If left untreated, cataracts can eventually lead to vision loss.

Cataracts are usually managed through surgery. In cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens called an intraocular lens (IOL). Cataract surgery is a safe and effective way to restore vision and improve quality of life.

Before deciding on cataract surgery, an eye doctor will perform a comprehensive eye exam to determine if cataracts cause the patient’s vision problems. If cataracts are diagnosed, the eye doctor will evaluate the extent of the cataract and recommend the best course of treatment.

After cataract surgery, patients typically need eye drops for a few weeks to help prevent infection and inflammation. It is also important to protect the eyes from injury, such as by wearing sunglasses outside. However, most patients experience improved vision within a few days or weeks after surgery.

In conclusion, cataracts are a common age-related eye condition that can cause vision problems. Cataract surgery is a safe and effective way to treat cataracts and restore vision. If you are experiencing cataract symptoms, you must see an eye doctor for a comprehensive eye exam and evaluation. With advances in surgical techniques and technology, cataract surgery has become a highly effective way to improve vision and quality of life.